Fully juicy in its citrus character with the pleasantly sharp, biting edges of tart fruit and bitterness, Hop Ranch Imperial India Pale Ale traces its roots to Victory’s Ranch series, a unique and comprehensive study of hops in which Brewmasters experimented with different hop varieties to showcase a range of flavor profiles and celebrate the nuances and distinctions in the resulting series’ recipes.

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a tulip glass. Appears a very cloudy, beautiful yellow color, with a nice, thick off-white head. The head has great staying power and wonderful lacing.

The nose is very strong, with great tropical fruits, citrus and fresh herbs. The malt if almost unnoticeable; very heavily weighted towards the hops. The taste follows along those same lines with great tropical fruits up front. The citrus hints come through in the middle, followed by a touch of sweetness in the middle, which is quickly hidden again by the citrus and very strong bitterness.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied, almost bordering on light. This goes down very easily. The carbonation is very active, making the feel even better. Overall, this is a very good DIPA. The light feel makes this go down easily and the wonderful aromas and flavors are impressive.

A: Pours a mostly clear straw color. The head is about a finger high, white in shade, and very creamy looking. Both the retention and the lacing left behind is pretty good. I'm a sucker for straw-colored IPAs, so this deserves bonus points.

S: Very, very fruity. Peaches, mangoes, grapefruit, hell, there might be something suggesting papaya. I'm also picking up blueberries. The malt backbone is imperceptible, and that's exactly how I like it. Having said that, the nose isn't all sunshine and rainbows - there's something ever-so-slightly off about it. I want to say it's a bit heavy in cat pee or ammonia, so I think I will. Having said that, it's a good nose, but man, it could have been a fuckin' fantastic one.

T: Its hop profile opens the beer up intensely, with notes of blueberry, grapefruit, melon, mango, and peaches. I might as well say this has no malt to it - really, it doesn't, this is purely a showcase for the hops. However, it finishes weirdly. Just like I said in the nose, there's something that doesn't fully gel with me and it's hard to place exactly what it is. The more I sip it, the more it hits me - it's oniony. I don't mind an oniony DIPA, honest to Jebus, but here it's a little too intense.

M: Super crisp, super light, super drinkable. This is its trump card - it almost goes down like a 4% blond ale, only it's 9%. The zesty carbonation helps it go down easily.

O: I like this beer a whole lot, just like DirtWolf. Also like DirtWolf, I don't quite love it. Onion, when it's in small doses, can be great (see: Lagunitas Sucks), this just brings it too strongly. On the plus side, I can't tell you how happy I am to see a DIPA on the market not weighed down with excess malt or excess booze.

This ale pours a hazy golden color with a very slight white head and decent spiderweb lacing. The nose is incredible. Fresh citrus, pine, peaches, even mangoes and papayas. All the awesome scents a fresh west coast Ipa should have. The taste is a little lighter than the aroma with all the flavors still present but slightly subdued. If Victory could of made the flavors shine in the mouth as much as they did on the nose, this cpuld be the best dipa I've ever had. None the less, it is a great beer and definitely worth trying; if not seeking out.

Picked up a 4 pack after hearing alot about this. I gotta say I am impressed. A-Theres alot of yeast floating around in this one, nice. Pours a hazy pale pilsner color. At 9%, it sure doesnt look like it! Appears very thin, which is intriguing. Great lacing, thin head.S- If I didnt know any better Id say I just bought a bottle of pure pineapple juice! Delightful! upon further inspection, I get hints of peach, or apricot... possibly mango or passion fruit. Wow, I just moved it up to 4.5 from 4.25, the aroma is just epic. Cant stop smelling it. I want to bathe in it. T- Wow! theres alot going on here. The alcohol is non existent. I taste pineapple, peach, mango... I hear the Mosaic hop gives off a hint of blueberry, and yes, I do beleive its there. What a great name for a hop, it fits the description perfectly... so many wonderful fruity flavors going on. I am really glad I just ordered a pound of Mosaic to play around with in my next home brew! This beer is fucking delicious, I need a keg of it. We have a winner, Im gonna go see if I can get all they have left of it at the liquor store.M- for 9% this is an easy drinker, I almost gave it a lower score, but the ABV makes me say it is outstanding, They used pilsner malt in it, so its supposed to be sorta thin, they nailed it on every aspect of this beer. Victory, my hats off to you. Overall I am in love with this beer, its not youre everyday Imperial IPA. If youre looking for a sweet not too bitter tropical/stone fruit bomb, here it is!

Pours a very light straw color, far lighter than any other IIPA I've ever had. An aggressive pour yields a generous head that slowly dissipates and leaves nice lacing all down the tulip.Curious for this style, the nose is almost nonexistent. A slight floral presence, but that's about it. Taste revels very balanced hop bitterness, almost but not quite covered up by the sweetness of the honey. Hops are slightly understated for the style.Finish is the same slight bitter but a lot of sweet. Would I drink this beer again? Yes, absolutely. Would I buy this beer again? Probably not, especially with a case of Hopslam in the cellar. This beer suffer by comparison.

I give Victory a great deal of credit for this beer. This is not like 99% of the imperial DIPAs out there. Extremely pale yellow color - different citrus aromas and taste. It won't be for everyone - disagree completely with any comparison to Hopslam - I know a Michigan Bell's fan that would kill for Hopslam that hates this beer. After producing Dirtwolf - Victory went in a completely 180 degree opposite direction - love it as a contrast to the orange color hop dominated IPAs which I also love.

A - Hazy straw with a 1.5 finger pillowy white head with very good lacing.

S - Dank leaning to cat pee, overly-ripe pineapple, very light touch of malt. Fragrant but definitely not the most appealing to me.

T - I like the flavor better than the smell. The pineapple flavor is fresh. I get a bit of umami flavor. Perhaps that's just me imagining a piece of ham with roasted pineapple on top; but that's what it reminds me of. There's an enjoyable oily hop bud flavor that must be the mosaic hops. Towards the end, a grassy taste becomes apparent. Don't notice the alcohol. Bitterness is in check and adds to the balance. Aftertaste is very nice with a dryish finish with some scrubbing citric tartness, a touch of pineapple sweetness and the right amount of moderate bitterness.